Desert Orchid Chase Tips: Martator Tough To Oppose

The Desert Orchid Chase should be a fast and furious encounter around Kempton with some admirable old stagers taking on new blood in the two mile graded chase scene. Billy Grimshaw has you covered with his best bet...

I'll kick things off with a bit of a whinge and a begrudging look at those smarter cookies than myself who took the 18/1 widely available antepost on the reigning, defending champion Editeur Du Gite. Gary and Josh Moore's charge will have to be a stats buster in here to win at the ripe old age of eleven but the Moore team are known expert target trainers and while his form on paper this season thus far looks wretched, there was plenty of zest in his front running performance until mistakes in the Paddy Power and I'd have been itching to back him here at double figures. Sadly, the market has cottoned on and I cannot really make a case that 6/1 is anything like value considering the risks of a waning horse in terms of love for the game and ability, but if he comes and chins my fancy I will be a serious Scrooge in the aftermath of a fabulous Boxing Day of racing.

I doubt he'll get an easy lead in here as Bryony Frost is back in Blighty to ride Sans Bruit and we know she will attempt an all the way success. I don't completely rule out the Ditcheat runner and the trainer has given a bullish update on his wellbeing in his regular Betfair blog, but with the potential for those two confirmed front runners spoiling each other's winning chance I'm willing to give him a swerve as well. Edwardstone is the class act in the field but - like Editeur Du Gite - is getting on now. His best form is when leading but Alan King bizarrely seems to discourage his riders from employing these tactics, I assume he'll do the same again here with a pace battle likely and as such I don't really see the former Arkle winner featuring.

Boothill has been swatted aside by Jonbon more times than his connections would probably like to count and although these are calmer waters, I'm not sure he is well handicapped at all and attempting to give 9lbs to the up and coming favourite could be an insurmountable task. That favourite, and a strong favourite this morning at the time of writing, is my confident selection in the race MARTATOR.

This horse for Venetia Williams and Charlie Deutsch will you'd imagine receive plenty of dumb money given his form on the racecard reads 1-1-1-1-1, and I'll leave it up to you dear reader to decide if being tipped by this humble scribe means more dumb money is following that cash, but I do think particularly if he brings the form he produced when strolling to his latest triumph at Ascot to the table he has an outstanding chance.

He has proven himself to be versatile in terms of where he is placed in a race and is a very assured jumper, which will be crucial if they go the rattling pace I'm expecting around a track like Kempton. Venetia is still in the midst of a fantastic run of form and while L'Homme Presse was not good enough in the King George yesterday, that race was blown apart really by the front running Il Est Francais so, barring the winner Banbridge, it's tough to judge anything else in the chasing pack so soon after the finish.

Soul Icon could be yet another pace angle and I do wonder if Harry Cobden may attempt to replicate building up a huge lead as Il Est Francais did in the King George to give his mount a squeak. He is young and progressive, like the favourite, which is more than can be said for plenty in here, but I don't see him as having the requisite class to win a competitive Grade 2 handicap like this. Traprain Law completes the line up but looks to have it all to do on the back of a disappointing run last time out at Carlisle in a much weaker race.